According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 27-year-old John Hall was scheduled to be released from the low-security Federal Correctional Institution in Seagoville on August 19 of next year. Now, he faces an additional 10 years behind bars for a hate crime committed behind bars.

Federal authorities say Hall used “a dangerous weapon,” and that during yesterday’s plea hearing it was explained that Hall “targeted the victim, a fellow inmate, because of the victim’s perceived sexual orientation.” Feds say he repeatedly punched and kicked the inmate in the face, breaking his teeth, “while calling the victim gay slurs.” Authorities say the attack was unprovoked.

In Thursday night’s release, Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, explains why the vicious attack was prosecuted as a hate crime: “The Justice Department continues to investigate and prosecute acts of violence targeting individuals because of their sexual orientation; this case is just another example of the department’s commitment to the pursuit of justice on behalf of all people regardless of their sexual preference or orientation.”